A Wolf's Tale
by zeph317toho
Summary: Ichigo gets bitten by a werewolf, no one has any sympathy and his father forbids him to shed in the house. How the hell is this his life?


PAIRING: Grimmjow/Ichigo

RATING: PG for language

NOTES: This was written for the Wolf AU day, one of the 30-Day AU Challenge I did in April. I just wanted something funny and fluffy for Ichigo.

* * *

Of course this is Ichigo's life. He's been human, Shinigami, Hollow and Quincy. He's been parts of so many different entities that now he's pretty much just solid rage.

So when the hairy creature tackles him to the sidewalk one night when he's in his human skin and bites him under the bright light of the full moon, Ichigo thinks well, fuck.

Only the bite doesn't kill him, and the creature raises a hairy muzzle dripping with his blood to meet Ichigo's cold and righteously pissed off eyes. Realizing it has bitten off something more than it can chew, it whimpers and runs off, faster than Ichigo would have expected as he gives chase, although his slowing steps might be coming from the blood loss.

He makes it home, tries to explain, then Isshin bustles him off to Urahara. After some kidoh and some good old-fashioned first aid then whispered discussions among the others, it's Urahara who breaks the news to him.

But none of them know much about the legendary creatures other than the fairy tales, and Urahara has never actually met one. But he gets the gleam in his eyes that means he's looking forward to happy research time and promises he'll know more before the next full moon.

And then he offers Ichigo a flea collar. Just in case.

Ichigo goes home and gets back to his life and the bite heals. He thinks that having another presence in his head should be old news at this point. Hey, maybe that crazy-ass Shiro will merrily slaughter the wolf and keep reign over the domain of Ichigo's mind.

But then he finds out it's not like that, although Urahara still isn't sure exactly what it's supposed to be like. He gives his best guess that Ichigo will only feel the call of the wolf during the three days when the moon is fullest, and even then, the wolf may not take over except in physical form.

Maybe that's not so bad because Ichigo is used to exercising his iron will to control the disparate wants and yearnings and cravings from the various warring factions in his mind and soul.

When the next full moon arrives, Ichigo prepares himself, asks his father to barricade him in his room and waits. When the moon rises, his body aches and creaks and twists and stretches and _changes_ and then he's looking down at big hairy paws and feeling strain and hair where there's never been before.

But that's it. No blood-lust out of the ordinary. No urge to rend and kill. No overwhelming desire to bite.

So he lays on his bed and tries to find the most comfortable position to just sleep away the next three days.

But of course Isshin isn't going to leave it alone, and Ichigo's ears twitch toward the door as it opens.

"Everything all right, son?"

Ichigo just snuffles.

"Well, if you aren't howling for my blood, then I think you're probably okay."

Ichigo harrumphs and lays his head back down on his forelegs.

"Can I pet you?"

And even though Ichigo whips his head up and opens his mouth to growl, Isshin is already gone.

But Ichigo wants to believe it's safe for him to slink out later to use the bathroom (a feat that he would pride himself on if he wasn't so damn ashamed) and then sniff around the house. When he stays in his new shape even after the moon sets and the sun rises, he tries to crawl under his bed, but his new form is just as muscular as his old and maybe even bigger.

Isshin tells him that Yuzu has food ready, but Ichigo waits until he hears them leave before he sneaks down and devours the raw meat she'd left. They return home before he's done, and Ichigo whines under his breath with each exhalation until he can escape back to his room, tail tucked firmly between his legs.

He reminds himself to tell Yuzu to leave the food upstairs from now on because he can't bear it otherwise.

When he wakes up in his usual human skin on the third morning, his father bops him on the head with a rolled-up newspaper.

"What the hell was that for?" Ichigo's voice rough from disuse.

"We are going to set some new rules," Isshin looms over his bed.

"But I didn't do anything!"

"That's the problem. Next month, no hiding in your room. You will socialize with the rest of the family because I will _not_ have Yuzu crying herself to sleep again because she thinks her big brother hates her. You will let that girl pet you and feed you and take you for walkies, you will even play fetch with Karin if she wants, but you will NOT hide away."

Ichigo rubs his head when Isshin bops him again and glares but it is half-hearted and he doesn't say anything else when Isshin continues.

"Just three ground rules: no shedding on the couch, no peeing to mark your territory and no humping anyone or anything. There's no coming back from that."

"Dad!"

And so his crazy family accepts his crazy new burden and that's all that's said.

Until he gets a summons from the Urahara shop that a visitor awaits him.

He hurries over but drops into an amble about a block away because he doesn't want to appear too eager. But a good fight is just what he needs.

Grimmjow is waiting in the underground lair, arms crossed and predatory grin already on his face. As Ichigo nears, Grimmjow sniffs and makes a face that is half parts alarm and disgust with a little haughtiness mixed in.

"What the fuck, Kurosaki? Why do you stink so bad?"

"What?" Ichigo stops and sniffs his armpits. "I don't stink." He stands on one foot to check his shoe sole.

"You smell like a fucking mutt," Grimmjow holds his nose and announces.

Ichigo freezes on one foot like a confused orange flamingo. "A what?"

"A dog. Did you get a pet? You smell like the inside of a kennel at high noon."

Ichigo growls. Grimmjow doesn't seem to notice the new sound but his eyes light up with homicidal glee as they always do. Ichigo slips into his Soul Reaper form and attacks, all in one motion.

It is the best form of therapy Ichigo could ask for. He's able to ignore all his worries and thoughts and urges and just fight. Grimmjow can take a lot of abuse so Ichigo doesn't have to worry about holding back.

It's the nearest he ever gets to a vacation. It's heaven.

Eventually like all good things, it has to end. Like usual, it's a close battle and depends on one or the other using a cheating maneuver to gain the upper hand.

This time Ichigo opens himself just enough so that Grimmjow can take him down, and then they both lay panting under the painted sky.

"Good fight," Ichigo gasps and Grimmjow groans in agreement.

After cooling off in companionable silence, Ichigo rolls to his knees then stands. "You doing anything later?" he asks as he brushes himself off.

"Depends if Urahara has my gigai ready. He told me last time it was in for repairs."

"Ha," Ichigo exchanges a knowing look with him.

Grimmjow follows him toward where Ichigo had changed into his soul form, and his nose wrinkles as they approach his human body. "God, that really does reek," he says, holding one hand over his nose.

"I don't smell now?"

Grimmjow's nostrils widen as he dramatically sniffs up and over Ichigo's head. "Just sweat and the usual: anger and UST."

"What now?"

"Kidding, kidding." Grimmjow holds up his hands in surrender. "So why does your meat shell stink?"

Ichigo sighs and sits back down. "It's a long story. It started the night of the full moon…"

When he's done telling the story, he has to elbow Grimmjow repeatedly to make him stop laughing but all it does is send him onto his side. He can't contain his mirth.

"So you're a _dog_ now?" Grimmjow sputters.

"A wolf. A werewolf. But only three days a month."

"You can't change at will, that sucks."

"I don't … think so," but the gears are working in Ichigo's brain now.

Grimmjow gets a speculative gleam too. "If you could, we could have some real fun."

"I don't know anything about acting like a wolf."

Grimmjow bumps his shoulder with his own. "I could teach you."

"You know what they say about cats and dogs..."

"Since when have we ever done anything _they_ say?"

So Ichigo does some research of his own and tries some things, but it seems that he really isn't able to change into the wolf form any time he wants. "What a useless waste," Grimmjow says.

But Grimmjow is waiting for him the next full moon, changed into something more like his adjuchas form, something Ichigo didn't know he was capable of, and they prowl for three glorious nights.

On the third morning, Ichigo awakes to find himself back home, curled naked around an equally naked Grimmjow who might be, if he were ever pressed hard enough to admit it, purring with contentment.

It isn't until much later that he blows his top when he finds the picture of the two of them entwined with the words underneath: "This werewolf was raised by a giant panther hollow so now he sleeps like this."

* * *

Did I really write 1,600 words of ridiculousness just as a set-up for that joke?

...maybe.


End file.
